Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ming wrote papers outlining his nutrient-solution research, and his aerospace proposal earned the Magic Liquid Research Institute five million in government funding. As he began graduate school at Hangzhou University of Science and Technology, he quickly stood out for his exceptional exam results and research.

• Su Qingrong urged Zhou Ming to apply for government funding for the High-Energy Nutrient Solution, and Zhou Ming agreed to write a paper for the application.
• Zhou Ming registered as a graduate student at Hangzhou University of Science and Technology and met Zhang Wenhai, Chen Xianxin, and Hao Yuqing.
• Zhao Qiyu set strict expectations for his students, while Zhou Ming later arranged to study mostly at home because classroom learning felt too slow.
• Zhou Ming published “Systematic Elucidation of Nutrient Solutions,” which received praise from senior experts and was reprinted by foreign journals.
• Su Qingrong submitted Zhou Ming’s aerospace nutrient-solution paper, and the aerospace administration approved the project with five million in funding for the Magic Liquid Research Institute.
• Zhou Ming resolved to develop advanced technology and contribute to his country as long as doing so did not harm his own interests.

After concluding that native characters could not overcome the limits of Money Empire without powerful advantages, Zhou Ming prepared a secret project to develop an enhanced God Brain. He spent nearly all his remaining funds on a Dean’s Son Character Card and entered Injection Mode to begin the plan.

• Zhou Ming reviewed his ten recent Injection Mode runs and concluded that natives earned far less than he could in Replacement Mode, defining their limits as the “Native Ceiling.”
• Zhou Ming decided to improve natives’ information, durability, and intelligence so they could survive the Upper District and challenge its strongest figures.
• Zhou Ming learned that Neurosurgeon’s Son had helped develop God Brain, but the ruler’s restrictions left the recovered technical materials only 85% complete.
• Zhou Ming planned to combine his 70% and 85% God Brain materials and secretly develop a stronger version at a base beyond the Sky Curtain System’s coverage.
• Zhou Ming spent fifty million Money on a Dean’s Son Character Card and twenty million Achievement Points on twenty Manifestation Treasure Chests.
• Zhou Ming activated Injection Mode with the new card and treasure chests, and the system began matching him with a character.

Zhou Ming used Wen Zeliang’s Super God Brain drug to amass wealth and secure a place among the Top District elders, despite the drug sharply shortening Wen Zeliang’s lifespan. After the run ended with an S evaluation, Zhou Ming concluded he had found the correct way to clear Money Empire and expected to perfect-clear it within a few more runs.

• Wen Zeliang successfully developed the Super God Brain drug, but a year of observation showed it accelerated aging and limited users’ lifespans.
• At Zhou Ming’s direction, Wen Zeliang mass-produced Godlike Beings, used them to dominate the Upper District gambling circle, and entered the Top District.
• Wen Zeliang used Zhou Ming’s evaluation formula to survive the reshuffling, then invested his funds in renovating the 48th Commoner District for twenty-two years.
• After the renovation earned him substantial wealth, Wen Zeliang ranked second among the five elders in the addition game, but died with only fifty years of lifespan.
• Zhou Ming received an S evaluation and a total of about 6.9 billion in money, then resolved to use the Super God Brain strategy to perfect-clear the dungeon.

Zhou Ming used Kang Jinhao and the Super God Alliance to seize control of District 52 and the Upper District, then launched a preemptive war against the Ruler. The Ruler escaped after the Alliance destroyed his space station, and vowed revenge.

• Zhou Ming invested in Kang Jinhao, helping him develop the Super God Brain Drug and Ultimate Slave Drug and build the Super God Alliance.
• Kang Jinhao used the Alliance to take control of District 52 and the Upper District, amassing far more wealth than the other Top District elders.
• The Ruler watched the growing threat as the Super God Alliance secretly gathered strength and prepared for war.
• The Super God Alliance detonated an electromagnetic pulse nuclear bomb, breached the Sky Curtain System, and sent submarines into the sea to begin its attack.
• The Ruler ordered the destruction of Paradise Island and District 52, but signal trackers traced his transmission to a space station in orbit.
• The Alliance launched nearly a hundred nuclear missiles at the space station, destroying it, while the Ruler escaped in a craft and swore revenge.

After Zhou Ming failed to clear the Money Empire instance with Kang Jinhao, he started a new round as Zhang Xingteng and built a team that cracked the Sky Curtain System. The rebels seized control of the system, and the ruler fled the space station as a thousand armed spaceplanes approached.

• Zhou Ming reviewed Kang Jinhao's failed run and concluded that the rebellion could not win without cracking the Sky Curtain System.
• Zhou Ming began another round as Zhang Xingteng, who developed Origin Zero and the Worm Eye virus with a team of super programmers.
• The programmers infiltrated the empire's ternary systems but could not crack the Sky Curtain System's Quantum Encryption.
• A Godlike Being proposed bypassing the encryption by obtaining a sky curtain fragment and developing a program to control it.
• The programmers cracked the Sky Curtain System, and the rebels' Worm Eye virus helped them seize control across more than twenty districts.
• The ruler discovered the breach as over a thousand armed spaceplanes approached, then fled the space station toward Moon Star Base.

Zhou Ming concluded that capturing the Sovereign was necessary for a perfect clear of the Money Empire instance and decided to enter the game himself to resolve a lingering regret. After returning home from a day out with Su Yuxiang, he told her he would enter the dream again the next day, promising the experience would last only a few days and would not make him lose weight.

• The Sovereign escaped to Moon Star, where his hidden industrial base and nuclear arsenal let him destroy Zhang Xingteng and his newly conquered planet.
• Zhou Ming concluded that the Sovereign’s many hidden resources made rebellion nearly impossible and that capturing him was the key to a perfect clear.
• Zhou Ming decided to enter the instance himself to find a woman from that world and make up for his emotional regret.
• Zhou Ming and Su Yuxiang returned home after taking photos at West Lake and joked about their wedding pictures and appearance.
• Zhou Ming told Su Yuxiang that he had to return to the dream the next day, and promised he would be gone for only three or four days without losing weight.

Zhou Ming found Lan Mengxin, showed her memories of a former life in which she had been his wife, and insisted they belonged together. Days later, he asked her father Long Shengguang for permission to marry her, then used a syringe to make him agree.

• Zhou Ming found Lan Mengxin painting by a lake and led her into the woods, where he revealed his strange devices and called himself a Time Traveler seeking his former wife.
• Lan Mengxin saw Zhou Ming's memories of a woman identical to her and rejected the idea that she was that man's wife, but Zhou Ming kissed her and declared she could not refuse his love.
• Several days later, Lan Mengxin brought Zhou Ming to Dragon Blue Castle, where he knelt and asked Long Shengguang for permission to marry her.
• Lan Mengxin said her father had agreed if Zhou Ming married into the castle, but Long Shengguang ordered a bodyguard to remove him.
• Zhou Ming paralyzed Long Shengguang with a joint lock and injected him with a golden syringe, after which Long Shengguang mechanically agreed to the marriage.

After Long Shengguang’s death, Zhou Ming helped Lan Mengxin take control of Dragon Blue Castle, and they spent twenty years building a wealthy, carefree life and raising nine children. With their family established, they prepared to leave on a long journey, while Zhou Ming also set his Godlike Being substitutes to seize the Upper District’s assets.

• Long Shengguang died when his attempt to break free caused his head to explode, and Zhou Ming comforted Lan Mengxin as she grieved.
• Zhou Ming helped Lan Mengxin defeat or control the former subordinates who challenged her, securing Dragon Blue Castle’s nearly 200 million in assets.
• Lan Mengxin and Zhou Ming spent the next twenty years traveling, pursuing art, and raising five daughters and four sons.
• When an Ultimate Gambler attacked Dragon Blue Castle after losing a gambling match, Zhou Ming’s robot-controlled defenses killed him, and Zhou Ming tasked his Godlike Being substitute with taking over Upper District assets.
• Lan Mengxin packed her belongings into system storage, and she and Zhou Ming said goodbye to their children before departing in an aircraft.

Zhou Ming took Lan Mengxin through the lower districts, where she witnessed poverty and brutal violence that changed her mind about becoming the world’s ruler. After rejecting many of her reform proposals, Zhou Ming promised to show her more of the world before they discussed how to transform it.

• Zhou Ming explained the planet’s oceans and the Sky Curtain System to Lan Mengxin as they flew toward District 50.
• Lan Mengxin explored an oasis village in District 50 and marveled at its simple way of life.
• During two months of travel through the lower districts, Lan Mengxin saw poverty, abuse, and violence, while Zhou Ming warned that isolated acts of help could not change the system.
• In District 03, Lan Mengxin witnessed a deadly battle between two families fighting over river water and resolved to dismantle the old order.
• Lan Mengxin began accepting Zhou Ming’s plan for her to succeed him and proposed more than a hundred reforms, but Zhou Ming warned that some could lead to renewed resource shortages and war.
• Zhou Ming said he would show Lan Mengxin another place before they discussed reforms further, and she agreed to wait before arguing with him again.

Zhou Ming showed Lan Mengxin District 0, a vast garbage-processing region where the Zeroed are sent, and explained how its workers survive by processing waste and salvaging discarded goods. After seeing a family cherish a repaired learning device and learning that Restorers recover old art and culture, Lan Mengxin reevaluated who was truly rich and poor in the Money Empire.

• Lan Mengxin was shocked by District 0’s immense, toxic garbage fields as Zhou Ming explained how the region protected the rest of the planet from waste.
• Zhou Ming revealed that the Zeroed were sent to District 0 to work, but said its residents faced little competition for survival and had a high happiness index.
• Zhou Ming showed Lan Mengxin the treatment factories, where inside workers sorted garbage and outside workers hauled it for Credit Points.
• Lan Mengxin watched a family in the residential district happily decide to buy a refurbished learning device, while Zhou Ming explained how Restorers repaired and collected discarded goods.
• Zhou Ming argued that the Zeroed treasured the culture and human virtues others had thrown away, leaving Lan Mengxin deeply shaken by the revelation.

Lan Mengxin and Zhou Ming discussed the planet’s resource limits and the deeper problems of civilization conflict and morality, then considered ways to reshape society. Lan Mengxin favored Zhou Ming’s improved Money Empire proposal, while he said he would first ask the Ruler whether humanity could reach the stars.

• Lan Mengxin reflected on how renewable resources and advanced technology could ease shortages, while civilization conflict and moral standards remained difficult problems.
• Lan Mengxin proposed a technological civilization based on science, law, and interstellar colonization, but Zhou Ming questioned why the Ruler had instead built a restrictive society focused on conserving resources.
• Zhou Ming presented three alternatives: a virtual game to reduce material demands, a civilization ladder for regions to develop separately, and an improved Money Empire that rewarded contributions instead of deadly competition.
• Lan Mengxin enthusiastically chose the improved Money Empire proposal, which would promote contributors, punish criminals, and let law-abiding people live without money.
• Zhou Ming said he would ask the Ruler whether interstellar colonization was possible before deciding how to transform the world, and Lan Mengxin told him she believed in him.

The Ruler discovered that Zhou Ming had secretly transformed the planet and prepared to destroy it, but Zhou Ming revealed his defenses and urged him to negotiate. The Ruler rejected Zhou Ming’s offer to become his assistant, though he considered the proposal to talk.

• The Ruler uncovered fake reports and footage, then sent robots to investigate the planet below.
• After seeing the planet’s transformation, the Ruler grew furious and ordered Moon Star Base to prepare for war and restart the planet.
• Six months later, the Ruler announced that the world would end the next day, leaving the four Desireless Ones terrified.
• Zhou Ming challenged the Ruler’s threat and offered to negotiate, claiming he had more than three times as many interceptor missiles as the Ruler had nuclear warheads.
• The Ruler rejected Zhou Ming as an assistant but paused over the prospect of negotiating.

Zhou Ming traveled to the Ruler’s space station to negotiate, while the Ruler weighed the threat posed by the united planet and its defenses. After Zhou Ming reached the control compartment and questioned him about the Money Empire, robot Aka turned against the Ruler, leaving Zhou Ming free to approach with an injection of Ultimate Slave Drug.

• Zhou Ming left Paradise Island aboard a spaceplane as crowds and Lan Mengxin watched, and the planet’s Aerospace Defense Force entered combat readiness.
• The Ruler held off on attacking Zhou Ming’s approaching plane, wary of the planet’s defenses, offensive power, and united population.
• Robots searched and handcuffed Zhou Ming, but he secretly planted a device in a surveillance blind spot while being escorted through the station.
• The Ruler met Zhou Ming in the core control compartment and dismissed his questions about why the Money Empire had been created.
• Robot Aka ignored the Ruler’s orders, unlocked Zhou Ming’s handcuffs, and revealed it had been turned against him.
• Zhou Ming approached the terrified Ruler with an injection of Ultimate Slave Drug, saying he would have to cheat to get his answers.

Zhou Ming learned why the Sovereign had created the Money Empire, defeated him, and seized Moon Star Base and its trove of technology. After returning to a celebratory Earth, Zhou Ming explained to Lan Mengxin why he had concealed the Sovereign’s death and kept the base’s resources under his control, while she pleaded with him to stay longer.

• Zhou Ming questioned the Sovereign, who explained that resource shortages and technological bottlenecks had made interstellar colonization impractical and that his plan could take roughly ten thousand years.
• Zhou Ming condemned the Sovereign’s methods for stripping humanity of love and other virtues, causing the Sovereign to wonder whether he had been wrong.
• Zhou Ming took control of the space station, unmanned fighters, production lines, and the Heart of Civilization, then killed the Sovereign and returned to Earth five days later.
• People welcomed Zhou Ming as a hero, and the day of his return became an annual holiday called Liberation Day.
• Lan Mengxin questioned Zhou Ming about concealing the Sovereign’s death and withholding Moon Star Base’s resources, and Zhou Ming defended his choices as safeguards against unrest after he left.
• Lan Mengxin, reluctant to part with Zhou Ming, asked him to stay a few more years.

Three years after Xiao Guang’s death in Money Empire, Zhou Ming achieved a Perfect Clear and explored the newly unlocked Galaxy Legend instance and its Probability Cards. He balked at the 100-billion-Achievement-Point entry fee and decided not to start the game yet.

• Three years after Xiao Guang died, Lan Mengxin found him peacefully dead in the study and read his goodbye note, then grieved for several days.
• Zhou Ming exited Money Empire and checked his SSS rating, maximum money, achievements, and total rewards.
• Zhou Ming reviewed Galaxy Legend, learned that prestige would drive its score, and asked the system about the new instance.
• Zhou Ming discovered that Probability Cards had unlocked, but found their Achievement Point prices extremely high.
• Zhou Ming tried to enter Galaxy Legend under Injection Mode, saw the 100-billion-Achievement-Point fee, and refused to play for now.

Zhou Ming reviewed three High-Energy Nutrient Solutions developed by the Magic Liquid Research Institute and decided to prioritize a production line for No. 1, despite its high cost and weaker commercial prospects. With only enough cash for two months of payroll, he told Gao Wenhui to research automated production lines while promising to find the money for both No. 1 and No. 3.

• Tian Yuanhao presented the three nutrient solutions and explained their different effects, costs, and side effects.
• Gao Wenhui recommended mass-producing High-Energy No. 3 first because it was cheaper and had greater market potential.
• Zhou Ming learned that an automated production line would cost at least 300 million and realized his remaining funds covered only two months of payroll.
• Zhou Ming told Gao Wenhui to investigate production lines and prioritize High-Energy No. 1, saying he would raise the money for both lines.

After bringing Source Yi into the real world, Zhou Ming had her connect to the internet, translate technical documents, and secretly acquire money from dormant bank accounts. He decided to rely on legal income instead and asked Source Yi to help him write a novel.

• Zhou Ming returned to Greentown Garden Community and summoned Source Yi from the system storage space.
• Zhou Ming gave Source Yi a storage module of technical documents and connected her to the internet so she could learn Chinese and organize the information.
• Source Yi hacked into thirteen banks and transferred billions into anonymous accounts, prompting Zhou Ming to warn her to avoid attracting attention.
• Zhou Ming decided he could not safely spend the illicit money and considered earning more through legal means, including writing novels.
• Zhou Ming asked Source Yi to help him write a novel.

Zhou Ming launched two novels with Source Yi’s help while planning a hugely successful game and a much larger venture. The chapter left him preparing to unleash a project he expected to shake the entire Earth.

• Zhou Ming considered adapting classic works from worlds he had visited, then chose to pursue original writing for a greater sense of achievement.
• Zhou Ming and Source Yi developed Time Traveler, a science-fiction novel about a protagonist whose soul travels across worlds and eras.
• Zhou Ming opened a Qidian account under the pen name Transporter and published Cloud Atlas and the first ten chapters of Time Traveler.
• Editor Bai Han and Zhou Ming’s readers welcomed the new book and sent him tips and red packets.
• Zhou Ming planned for Source Yi to develop a game that would draw players away from existing mobile and PC games.
• Zhou Ming hinted that his next major project would create a shockwave across the Earth.

Zhou Ming prepared to release a Technology Bomb of advanced industrial technologies to accelerate Country Z’s development and support his goals of immortality and a Super God Brain. Two days later, Source Yi finished translating and voicing the technical materials and showed him the completed website.

• Zhou Ming decided to distribute tens of thousands of advanced industrial technologies cheaply, mainly to factories and companies in Country Z, to speed up technological development and his medical ambitions.
• Zhou Ming planned to keep technologies at least ten generations ahead in reserve so he could retain control over industrial standards and punish those who defied him.
• Source Yi told Zhou Ming she had finished translating and adding voiceovers to the technical materials in two days.
• Zhou Ming praised Source Yi’s voice acting and asked her to handle future audio and video voiceovers.
• Source Yi showed Zhou Ming the completed website, designed with a starry sky, a blue planet, and an animated technology tree.

Zhou Ming entered the paid Galaxy Legend instance after spending heavily on character, skill, blueprint, and probability items to improve his chances and gather information. He was injected as Luo Nandi’s son, Luo Aixing, on Yuanzhi Star, where his father lovingly raised him alone.

• Zhou Ming reviewed Galaxy Legend’s high entry fee and costly items, then decided an early attempt would help him build an information advantage.
• Zhou Ming converted cash into Achievement Points and bought the Son of Interstellar Mine Owner Character Card, a D-Class Exploration Spaceship blueprint, skill cards, Probability Cards, and Manifestation Treasure Chests.
• Zhou Ming started the instance in Injection Mode, and the system matched him to a character.
• On Yuanzhi Star, Luo Nandi celebrated the birth of his son, Luo Aixing, whose egg cell had been sold by former superstar Mu Xinghua.
• Months later, Luo Nandi personally fed and cared for Luo Aixing at a remote mining base, while the nanny robot stood by unused.